By Lenn Thompson, Founder and Publisher

PomaceNice story in Newsday this week about sustainable grape-growing Long Island, particularly the use of compost in place of chemical fertilizers.

Macari Vineyards, as noted in the piece, has pioneered many of of Long Island’s ‘green’ vineyard practices, but did you know that Pindar Vineyards has spent almost three years making compost for application this year?

We read a lot about organic/biodynamic/sustainable farming and the benefits to the land, groundwater, etc…but this piece raises an advantage for the wineries:

They can save hundreds of thousands of dollars if they aren’t buying chemical applicaitons. Maybe the almighty dollar isn’t the romantic, ‘green’ motivator for sustainable farming, but it’s a much more effective one. Remember, no matter what, wineries are in this to make money.

Surprising that Shinn Estate and Lieb Family Cellars weren’t mentioned in the story, as I know they play in this field a lot.